Prince Harry was chastised by a D-Day veteran this evening, as he attended a reception with Normandy veterans of WWII – without wearing a tie.
A reception was held at Southwick House near Portsmouth on the eve of the D-Day landings, before the remaining veterans make their annual pilgrimage to the beaches of Normandy to mark the occasion. The house was Eisenhower’s headquarters for the landings.
Harry opted for a more casual look with his open shirt
91-year-old Ivor Anderson jokingly asked Harry: “Where’s your bloody tie?”
“I know. I was told not to wear a tie and then you all turn up wearing them,” Harry replied, slightly flushed. “I feel under-dressed.”
The fifth-in-line to the throne wore a navy suit and blue shirt, which was left unbuttoned at the neck. Harry appeared to realise he was under-dressed upon arrival, asking founder of the D-Day Revisited charity John Phipps: “Are they all wearing ties in there? I should have worn a tie. Oh well, it’s too late now.”
Mr Anderson later spoke to the press: “I told [Prince Harry] he should wear a bloody tie. I said I had a spare one, he said he couldn’t wear mine because he didn’t have his wings,” referring to the emblem denoting a soldier is a qualified parachutist.
D-Day Revisited has been helping veterans of the operation complete an annual pilgrimage to France since 2008. The organisation picks up veterans up across the country and takes them to Portsmouth, before crossing the Channel to the Norman beaches, where they pay tribute to their fallen comrades of the Second World War.
Harry, 31, served two tours of Afghanistan before he left the army last year; he queried the former-soldiers about the atmosphere was like on the ships crossing the Channel and on the landing crafts as the troops prepared for the assault. They said it was quiet, since nobody talked much.
“It’s amazing to think.. just running off a boat like that,” he said.
Before leaving, the redhead wished them well on their trip and added: “Don’t get into trouble and if you do, don’t get caught.”
